RIAMCO

Rhode Island Archival and Manuscript Collections Online

For Participating Institutions

International Seapower Symposium records (RG-22)

Naval Historical Collection, U.S. Naval War College

686 Cushing Road
Newport, RI 02841-1207
Tel: 401-841-2435
email: nhc@usnwc.edu
Website: https://usnwcarchives.org/

Historical note

The International Seapower Symposium (ISS) is a biennial meeting held at the U.S. Naval War College (NWC), hosted by the Chief of Naval Operations and the President, U.S. Naval War College. First held in Newport, R.I. in 1969, ISS convenes regularly, every two to three years, to provide a forum for senior international naval leaders to discuss common maritime challenges and improve international maritime security cooperation. ISS 16 was originally scheduled to be held in September 2001, but was cancelled due to the events of September 11, 2001.

Attendees to the symposia include the chiefs of navies and coast guards from around the world, who gather for three days to discuss maritime issues and listen to a selection of distinguished speakers. In 1969, there were 80 attendees representing 37 countries. By 2014, attendance has increased to 199 military and civilian attendees from 115 countries.

The original objective for ISS was to promote mutual understanding among the leaders of the world's maritime nations. Beginning with ISS 4, each symposia was centered around a theme which have concentrated around different aspects of cooperation among navies, navies’ roles in non-military operations, common challenges, information sharing, and global solutions to security. One of the results of ISS is the initiation and growth of regional arrangements such as the Inter-American Naval Conference, Western Pacific Naval Symposia, Black Sea – Mediterranean Regional Symposia, Indian Ocean Naval Symposium, and African Sea Power Symposium.

Chronology

Date Event
17-20 Nov 1969 1st ISS
1-5 Nov 1971 2nd ISS
15-19 Oct 1973 3rd ISS
6-9 Jul 1976 4th ISS: The role of Navies in the 1980s
2-5 Oct 1979 5th ISS: The Role of Navies in a World of Peace
28 Jun-1 Jul 1981 6th ISS: World Navies in the 1980s
7-10 Nov 1983 7th ISS: Emerging Naval Roles to the Year 2000
20-23 Oct 1985 8th ISS: Maritime Security Planning – Traditional vs. Non-Traditional Views
25-28 Oct 1987 9th ISS: Maritime Power in an Era of Low Intensity Conflict
22-25 Oct 1989 10th ISS: Meeting Commitments in an Era of Fiscal Constraint
6-9 Oct 1991 11th ISS: Emerging Cooperative Maritime Roles in a Changing World Environment
7-10 Nov 1993 12th ISS: Maritime Coalitions and International Security
5-8 Nov 1995 13th ISS: Partnership...From the Sea
2-5 Nov 1997 14th ISS: Seapower and Common security in the 21st Century
7-10 Nov 1999 15th ISS: Maritime Strategies for a Naval Century
26-29 Oct 2003 16th ISS: Seapower for Peace, Prosperity and Security
20-23 Sep 2005 17th ISS: A Global Network of Nations for a Free and Secure Maritime Commons
16-19 Oct 2007 18th ISS: Forging Cooperative Solutions for International Maritime Security
7-9 Oct 2009 19th ISS: Connecting Navies, Building Partnership
18-21 Oct 2011 20th ISS: Security and Prosperity through Maritime Partnerships
16-19 Sep 2014 21st ISS: Global Solutions to Common Maritime Challenges